No Escape
by Cauthon
Summary: The boys are back home, and life should go back to normal. But, what if it doesn't? What if the darkness doesn't want to just go away? Will Riku fall, or will he find his light?
1. Chapter 1

**Cauthon: Greetings and salutations! I bid you welcome to my first fanfic under this username, and hope you like the story. I own nothing except the laptop used to type this up on. **

**Warnings: Pending, likely yaoi and possible self-harm later on.**

"Sora, Riku!"

The call rang out along the beach, the titular pair turning to look in the direction of its origin. At the dock stood a red headed girl, waving at them enthusiastically. Her hands dropped to her sides, and she came running over. "You'll never believe what I just found out," Kairi said, once she drew within speaking distance of her friends.

"What?" Sora asked her. "Is it news from the king?" The second question had held a tone of excitement. The brunette teen had been anticipating a letter from Mickey ever since the mouse had left for his own world. Kairi shook her head, lips curving slightly into a frown.

"No, nothing from the king. But," her voice was regaining its enthusiasm. "I overheard my parents talking. Apparently, my dad is planning a big celebration for you guys."

"For me?" The white-haired male was taken by surprise. "Why?"

Kairi gave a laugh. "To welcome you both home, silly. People missed you while you were gone, you know!" Her hands settled on her hips as she spoke, her anger only present in a frown. Cerulean eyes still glimmered with happiness. "I'm glad you're back."

Sora and Riku smiled up at the girl. "We know," Sora said. "You've only said it a billion times."

"And I'll say it a billion more!"

Conversation continued, but Riku's heart wasn't in it. It was good to be home, true, but…being back amidst the Light wasn't proving easy. For far too long, he'd traveled in the Dark, and the world just seemed…unnatural in its brightness. In the few days since returning to the islands, Riku had caught himself more than once wishing to fade back into darkness. It wasn't good, he knew. Sora had worked hard to bring him back, and he wasn't intent on betraying the other teen anytime soon.

However, even now, Riku knew the darkness in his heart wasn't going to let him alone without a fight. At night, he could feel it, tugging at him. It made sleeping difficult, and the white haired male was glad for his lengthened bangs. Riku figured the fight in his heart was his alone, whether he won or lost.

"And, he wouldn't let her turn it in!" Laughter followed, the tail end of some funny story from Kairi about the various people at school. Riku realized he'd been lost in thought a while, the sun had completely set, and Kairi and Sora had been talking on without him. Though, they still shot him occasional glances, their faces tinged with a mixture of concern over his continued silence and hope that he'd join in the conversation. Riku forced up a laugh.

"Yeah, heh, wouldn't let her…." His voice drifted off into silence, eyes trailing to the darkened sand. In the darkness, if he closed his eyes, he could make believe he was there, on that other beach. The waves sounded just the same as that place, and the sand rolled between his fingers the same way. If he just focused on the waves and the sand…

"Riku, you coming?"

His eyes opened again, and he looked up at Sora, confused. "What?"

"Kairi and I are ready to head back. It's getting late, and there's school tomorrow," he replied, "Don't want to miss it, right?"

"Right," Riku answered the brunette, giving a nod. He would rather stay and listen to the waves, but he had to get back to a normal life.

_What if I don't want to be normal anymore?_

Riku was at the castle of those Nobodies, with Sora and Kairi. From the darkness, Saix appeared. Riku had seen him coming, trying to warn the other two. Every time he opened his mouth, though, nothing came out. He tried to run to them, but moved as though he were in a vat of jelly. The Nobody raised his weapon, striking at Kairi first. The blade tore through her chest, the girl falling with a cry. Red pooled around her, staining the pink of her clothing. A few beads dripped from the freshly colored claymore, and Saix turned to Sora next. The enraged brunette lunged towards the Nobody, keyblade held high and ready to land. It made no contact, however, and the larger blade again tasted flesh as it ripped into a second victim. As Sora fell, the scream Riku had been attempting to release burst forth, as Saix moved in to claim a third.

He'd jerked awake with a start, sweat making his sheets stick to him. The room felt so hot, Riku kicked the covers away, sitting up with wide eyes. Never had he had a dream like that. It felt so vivid, so real. He couldn't recall it all, but what he could was more than enough. Resting his face in his hands, he tried to rub the terror away.

_It never happened_, he told himself, trying to calm down. _Sora and Kairi are alive and well, at home sleeping in their beds._

Standing, Riku crept out into the hallway, pausing a moment to listen for the even breathing from down the hall. His parents were asleep, and wouldn't notice if he left. Returning to his room, he slipped on a long sleeved jacket, seaside nights could get chilly, and was back in the hall a moment later. He held his shoes in his hand as he slipped down the stairs and out into the quiet night, putting them on only when he was safely outside. He walked briskly along the dirt road, not afraid of being caught. The town was supposedly asleep, and no one suspected anyone else of ever wandering around at night. So, there was no one to impede him as he made his way down to the beach, where he sat down by the water.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. He could feel the darkness of the world, as the darkness in himself stirred happily. It was glad to be out here, in the cold air, even though Riku himself was nearing the point of complete exhaustion. Not a nights' peace had he gotten since returning, and it was wearing him down. Consciously, he wanted to return to the light, but his heart wasn't letting him. Eyes growing tight, he clenched his teeth, anger growing. He didn't know what could possibly be wrong with him that the darkness in him refused to leave him. The king had said Ansem's machine had quelled it, but there it was, churning inside him.

He felt cold then, rising from his feet. Eyes shooting open, he realized he was standing in the surf, moving slowly out to the deeper water. He wasn't sure what he was doing or why, as solid ground vanished and he began swimming. A dark shape stood out in the clear sky, and Riku could make out the rocky peaks of the island he and his friends would hang out at. His limbs were exhausted when he finally got to the island, and Riku rested on the shore a while to regain his strength.

It hadn't just been the swimming, the chill of the water sapped his energy as well. He could feel the tiredness seeking to claim him, trying to draw him to sleep again. He fought it as long as he could, rolling over onto his back to stare at the stars. Sand stuck to him, gathered in clumps in his hair and on his clothes, but he paid it no mind. Closing his eyes, still half in the water, he felt as though he were back there, on the Dark Island.

"At least the waves sound the same…" he mumbled to no one, mind falling into the shadows of sleep as early morning rose to awaken the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Later, he was greeted by a stream of bright sunlight shining down into his eyes. Turning his head, Riku rolled onto his side, pressing his face into the sand. The grains shaded his eyes from the light, and it took some time before he was able to lift himself up to standing. He felt even more drained than before, despite the rest he was sure he'd just had.

He groaned as he moved, his body stiff from lying in the chill for so long. A shiver ran down his spine, and he pulled the jacket closer around him. The lower hem was soaked from the waves, as were his pajama pants and shoes. He took the shoes off, to let them dry in the sun. It was then he remembered school.

Glancing up at the sun, he figured from its relatively low position that it wasn't even lunch time yet. He could still get there, with plenty of time. However, swimming back was something he didn't quite feel up to. Then, a second thought hit him.

He had slept out here. And hadn't had any bad dreams. A smile grew on his face, but faded soon after. He had slept out on the island, and clearly hadn't been in his bed when his mother would have come to wake him. They had to be looking for him by now, his parents.

"Of course they are," he said aloud, eyes turning to stare at the distant shoreline. He waited the whole day, with no sign of any search party. No sign of anyone else, for that matter. Not a soul came down to the island, something he'd been counting on in the event none of the adults thought of searching out here.

As true night fell, Riku started wondering if his best bet would be to swim back, but kept holding on to the hope his parents, someone, anyone, would row up to that dock.

_But_, he thought, _I _swam_ out here._ Riku didn't think it likely they would zero in on the island, with his boat moored back at the dock on the mainland. He had to get back himself, somehow.

Pulling himself up and out of the water, crawling out of reach of the surf, Riku sat back down again. He panted a little, tired from the miniscule exertion. He shivered in the cool air, drawing his knees up at tilting his head to look up at the sun. Hopefully it would dry him soon, otherwise he could catch a cold, if he hadn't already.

The wind picked up as the day wore on, with clouds slowly gathering in the formerly clear sky. Riku watched as the storm gathered itself, the rain falling heavily. He made his way to the small cabin, soaked to the bone when he got to the little wooden structure. Shivering, he lay there, by the door, water dripping into a muddy pool around him. No one would come today, the storm would make it too dangerous to sail. Eventually, the soothing nature of rainfall lulled the teen into sleep.

Another nightmare pulled him back into the waking world, staring at a wood ceiling with terrified eyes. In this one, it had just been himself and Sora, out on the beach when a dark cloud appeared. Suddenly, they were carried off into a dark vortex, holding onto each others' hands as they tried to ride it out. The wind of the vortex had been far too strong though, and their grips slowly loosened, until the pair were forcibly pulled apart. Riku went flying off, with Sora being torn towards an opposite direction. Sora called out to him, and Riku could hear the brunet's voice fading into the distance, before quelling all together. "Sora!" Riku shouted, nothing but black all around. "Sora!"

"Sora," he spoke, snapping out of sleep. The roof of the cabin was quiet, as though the rain had stopped, but Riku felt as though he had even less energy than before. His body felt like lead, and his limbs weren't cooperating very well with him as he attempted to stand. He got as far as his knees before he had to stop, leaning against the wall. He couldn't do it, he didn't have the energy to. Swimming back to the mainland now was entirely out of the question, unless he really did want to drown.

Peeking outside through the door, Riku saw a crystalline sky, devoid of clouds. Stars twinkled happily in the ink above, Riku gazing at them with a sense of wonder. "I wonder which one of those is Traverse or Twilight Town," he thought aloud. He almost missed his old Gummi ship, but greatly mourned the loss of his ability to travel with those portals.

_No, what am I thinking?_

Those portals did not bode good tidings for the world they appeared on, mostly on account of the Organization. Without them, Riku wondered if the pathways through the dark would still be as stable as they once were.

Those portals did not bode good tidings for the world they appeared on, mostly on account of the Organization. Without them, Riku wondered if the pathways through the dark would still be as stable as they once were. If they were safe without someone controlling the Heartless and Nobodies. A cough halted his train of thought.

It was quickly followed by a rapid succession of more coughing, the silver haired male doubling over where he knelt in the sand. Energy all but gone, he lay back down, curling his legs up into himself. He was hoping someone would come tomorrow. He wasn't sure if he could take another day like this, falling ill as he knew he was. Sora would come for him, to rescue him, like always.

_Like always?_

His slowly closing eyes snapped open. That's right, Sora did always save everyone. Always came at the right time, keyblade swinging, ready to knock some Darkness out. Well, Riku wouldn't let that happen. Sora wasn't the only one with a keyblade. Calling Way To the Dawn to his side, he gripped the hilt tightly in his hand. He was still strong, if his keyblade was still willing to come to him. He could not let himself just lay here and do nothing.

With a grunt of effort, he pulled himself to his feet with the aid of Way To the Dawn, leaning against the wall of the shack once was successfully standing. He stumbled forward, nearly falling back to the ground, but managing to catch himself and remain upright. Outside, the rain had indeed ceased, the slowly growing dawn lighting the sky. In the distance, he spotted a number of boats drawing slowly closer to the docks. Way To the Dawn vanished, its presence likely to draw too many questions from too many people. Without its help, though, walking, let alone standing, grew that much harder.

"Riku!" The silveret smiled at the brunet racing towards him, wrapping him in a hug. "You're alright!"

"Of course I am," he replied, trying, and failing to not knock both him and Sora over. "Ok, maybe I'm not," he mumbled, voice muffled by Sora's shirt.

"Oh, he's alive!" his mother shouted, hurrying over to where the boys lay in the sand. "My baby, my baby," she said, wrapping her arms around Riku and pulling him into a tight hug. She drew away a few moments later, during which a crowd, mostly made up of adults, had gathered around them. Glancing around, Riku could see Kairi among them, a big smile on her face. Gaze returning to his mother, who was eying him, Riku stared back, confused. "You look a bit pale, Riku. Are you sure you're..." she trailed off, having reached up to feel his forehead. Her eyes widened into panic within an instant. "My god," her whispered invocation drawing concern from everyone else. "You're burning up, Riku. We need to get you home, and in bed."

Riku might have laughed if he wasn't trying to hold back another coughing fit. She was always so overprotective whenever he got sick, as if she wasn't when he wasn't sick. As quickly as her panic set in, it vanished, becoming doting worry. Riku was helped into a boat, and the search party set off, back to the mainland. Riku rode with his mother, Sora, and Sora's father. Sora and his father paddled, with Sora trying to draw Riku into conversation. Riku, however, just wanted to sleep. Leaning against his mother, his head resting on her shoulder, his eyes drifted closed once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cauthon: And here's chapter 3! Hope you enjoy it!**

Sora and Kairi were often over and visiting, though Riku's mother didn't let them stay very long.

"He needs to sleep," she said, waving her hands in a shooing motion. "You can come back later."

So, Riku was with his mother most of the time. She kept the house quiet, a firm believer that noise didn't help a sick person. She was also big on the idea of soup, and Riku could smell some cooking most hours of the day. At times, he wondered just how long they'd be eating the stuff after he recovered. He hated the stuff, thanks to her. If you were sick, and in the care of his mother, you were eating soup. Every day, three times a day, soup. And, woe betide you if you didn't eat it – that resulted in a lecture on how you weren't helping yourself and you were going to die. It was nerve racking at times, and the constant nagging and attention from his mother soon reminded Riku why he'd left the islands to begin with.

"Here, honey, I made some lunch for you!" the cheerful call rang out from the doorway. Riku turned his head to stare at the black haired woman. Her grin was a mile wide, and in her hands was a wooden tray. A bowl rested on it, and Riku could wager a guess what was in it. He sighed inwardly, his mother approaching and setting the tray on a small stand on the side of the teen's bed. "Minestrone, with some orange juice for you to drink," she said, straightening and looking down at him expectantly. If he wanted her to go away and let him be alone a while, he'd better taste the soup and make her happy. With another silent sigh, he rolled to his side, reaching an arm out from beneath the green quilt for the spoon.

"Mmm…good," he said, following a small sip of the still-too-hot liquid. "Thanks, mom," he added, laying back down again.

"The best for my baby," she said, ruffling his hair and planting a kiss on his cheek. Once she was gone, Riku sighed again, vocally this time. He'd forgotten how overbearing she was. She was devoted to her family, sure, but that only went so far before it became pure annoyance. Burying his head beneath his blankets, he closed his eyes. He found it more comfortable that way; it was nice and warm, and the reduced light made sleeping easier. Although, the nightmares still came on occasion. His mother, thankfully, dismissed them as mere fever dreams, but Riku knew them for what they were.

Before he knew it, he had dozed off, and awoke to maternal pestering.

"Oh, Riku, you never touched your lunch! How do you think you're going to get better young man?" He opened a tired eye to look up at his frowning mother. "You need to eat!"

"I'll eat, mom, I'll eat," he said, trying to head her off at the pass. "I was just tired, is all."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Eat your dinner, then?" She picked the bowl up, leaving the room and returning a few minutes later with a second one. This one Riku was determined to eat, sitting up and working through the hot food slowly, a pleased woman taking it away once he was done. Back in his blankets, Riku slept again, the routine continuing a week until his mother felt he was well enough to resume life.

Riku, however, felt differently. He was becoming nocturnal, with all the sleeping he did during the day. Attempting to go back to a diurnal schedule was not an easy thing, and he often went to school exhausted and dark-eyed. It wasn't as though his friends didn't take notice, indeed Sora and Kairi often tried to find out what was wrong.

"I've just been having trouble sleeping," Riku answered, when Sora asked. It wasn't exactly a lie, just not completely the truth. Further prodding into why he'd been having the trouble he avoided, often by changing the subject or making up things he had to go to. Often he'd lie and say he had detention, and Sora wasn't too interested in sticking around school for that. Kairi would sometimes stay with him though, despite the fact that she didn't get much out of him when she did.

"Want to go play some blitzball?" Tidus propositioned the bleary-eyed male one afternoon. He'd been heading home after another detention – properly earned this time by way of sleeping during class. Having been a bit out of it, he hadn't noticed the blonde's approach.

"Umm…blitzball?" Riku replied, blinking. He wasn't quite in the mood for the game, and really wanted to get back home. Then again, going to play blitzball meant staying out a while longer, possibly until nightfall. The idea of being out till dark was too appealing to pass up, and Riku nodded in agreement. "Alright, sounds good," he said, lips curving into a smile.

"Cool! Wakka and Sora are already out waiting," Tidus replied, clearly excited. Taking off towards the docks, the happy youth beat Riku there, the older male preferring to walk. "You're so slow!" Tidus said, jumping up at down by his boat. "It's blitzball, you know!"

"I know, I know," Riku said, getting in behind Tidus. The blonde was so excitable when it came to his sports.

Pulling up to the dock at the island, Riku and Tidus headed over to Sora and Wakka, Tidus waving and calling excitedly. "Hey guys, we got four! Two on two, yeah?"

Sora smiled upon spotting Riku, who shifted his gaze away as he neared. "Who's on what teams?" Wakka asked the blond.

"Me and Riku could be a team," Tidus said, nodding. "Yeah, we're gonna beat you guys!" He raised a fist and punched the air.

"Sounds good to me," Wakka agreed, "Ready, then?"

"I definitely am," Sora said, giving his arms a quick stretch.

"Alright then, usual goal posts, first team to ten points wins," Wakka said, laying out the rules they often used when they played. The sun fell slowly in the horizon as they played, the four boys happily tired when they finally finished. Riku and Tidus won, with Tidus scoring most of the goals. He was a natural when it came to the sport, and Riku didn't care for it that much anyway. Laying in the sand and watching the tail-end of the sunset, the four chatted a bit about idle things.

Riku wasn't quite paying attention to the flow of conversation. His eyes were glued to the sky, and the fading light. Back then, when Sora lost his memories, he'd told DiZ – no, Ansem – that he was going to walk between both sides. The twilight road, he once reasoned, was the best way to balance himself. The only way to save Sora and get his friend back in the fight. Well, the brunet was safe now, and Riku's faith in the twilight was beginning to wane. Watching it in action, twilight was two different things. Dusk was nothing more but the darkness of night conquering the retreating light. Conversely, dawn was the light reasserting itself. Little wars between both forces, with both sides both gaining and losing ground constantly. To choose twilight meant Riku had a choice to make – dusk or dawn. He knew what path his keyblade was, but he wasn't quite sure anymore if that was truly the right one.

"Hey, Riku," a voice and a poking finger interrupted his thoughts. "Ready to head home?"

Turning his eyes towards Sora, who was kneeling beside him, he looked for Wakka and Tidus. The pair of them were already halfway to the dock. "Yeah," Riku answered, slightly reluctantly. He would love to stay out there the whole night, and watch as it ran its course. However, there would probably be inquisition into why, especially so soon after his recovery from the last time. Standing, he followed Sora towards the dock, and back to the mainland.

"Um, Sora?" Riku asked him while they were securing the boat .

"What is it?" the younger male replied, tightening the knot in the rope.

"Want to hang out down here a bit?"


End file.
